Golf
College senior
Kevin Penner G o l f e r , U NLV
He makes it look easy — but works hard at inspiring others
onship in his hometown. Penner survived a three-way, sudden-death playoff to win the major amateur championship event just two weeks after receiving Honorable Mention AllAmerica recognition for his junior season.
The best golfers, the ones you
Arbor View High grad Zane Thomas and Coronado High grads AJ McInerney and Kenden Slattery are all freshmen on this year’s team. Just like practicing against great players every day in sports like basketball and football can make you better, so too can competing with and against someone like Penner on the links, day in and day out. The saying goes, “Iron sharpens iron,” and so too do irons, putters and drivers.
watch from the couch on a Sunday afternoon, make it look so easy. Whether it’s an almost unnoticeable change in their swing that puts the requisite backspin on a ball or the perfect read on a long putt, great golfers take an activity we in the desert enjoy year-round and turn it into an art form. Kevin Penner is one of those golfers — and soon enough, he could be among that group you watch on TV, playing for a tournament title on Sundays. Penner, a Sammamish, Wash., native, is a senior at UNLV and the top golfer in the Mountain West. In the Rebels’ fall season, Penner played four of the five tournaments, finished top 10 in each and came out with a 71.09 scoring average per round, which led both the team and the league. As a junior last season, Penner had seven top 10s, including two victories. His 71.61 scoring average was the 10th best in school history, and that only set the table for his dramatic July victory at the Sahalee Players Champi-
The future? Penner has a chance to become just the second Ben Hogan Award winner this season, following fellow Washington native Ryan Moore (2005). Maybe more important for the program and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame coach Dwaine Knight is that there are a lot of young Rebels to learn from Penner this season, including a trio of locals.
Th e P l ay e r
Golfer, senior, UNLV men's golf
Th e b u z z
2013 Ben Hogan Award watch list, 2012 Honorable Mention All-America, two-time All-Mountain West, three career individual victories
Th e p r o s p e c t s
Penner may have a shot at a spot on the PGA tour — even though the route is tougher than it used to be, requiring more work on the Web.com Tour and success in a three-tournament series.
After UNLV’s home event at Southern Highlands Golf Club the second weekend of March, Penner will wrap up his collegiate career in places like Arizona and Texas before a potential date with the NCAA Championship in Atlanta at the end of May. Once he’s done as a Rebel, Penner will try to take his swing to the PGA Tour, though the route just got tougher. Players used to be able to earn their PGA Tour cards through Qualifying School, but that system ended in 2012. Now it will take more work on the Web.com Tour (the equivalent of the NBA D-League) and success in a three-tournament series. That may sound daunting, but remember, the best golfers always make it look easy.
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